Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Chemistry, Kraków, Poland.
Sci Prog. 2011;94(Pt 2):139-83. doi: 10.3184/003685011X13046171774898.
Molecular magnetism is a new and extremely fascinating field on the borders of chemistry, physics and materials science. The design and synthesis of molecule-based magnets requires the chemist to exert considerable control over the molecules to arrange them appropriately. It also demands the development of new theories to explain the complex magneto-structural behaviour of these intriguing solids. Molecular magnetism is still at a very early stage of development. The main challenge is to increase the strength of the magnetic interactions between spin carriers so the resulting materials can be usable at room temperature. However molecular magnets exhibit true potential to become multifunctional materials. They show some considerable advantages over conventional magnets: optical transparency, chemical sensitivity and low weight to name just a few. The following article is not a complete review of the field. Its aim is rather to show how beautiful and versatile magnetic molecular solids can be, and to encourage the in-depth study of the subject.
分子磁学是化学、物理和材料科学边缘的一个新兴且极其迷人的领域。基于分子的磁体的设计和合成需要化学家对分子进行相当程度的控制，以将它们适当地排列。它还需要发展新的理论来解释这些有趣的固体的复杂磁结构行为。分子磁学仍处于非常早期的发展阶段。主要的挑战是增加自旋载体之间磁相互作用的强度，以使得到的材料可以在室温下使用。然而，分子磁体确实具有成为多功能材料的潜力。它们相对于传统磁体具有一些明显的优势：光学透明性、化学敏感性和低重量等。本文不是对该领域的完整综述。其目的是展示磁性分子固体可以多么美丽和多功能，并鼓励对该主题进行深入研究。
